Here's something you might be interested in.
The investigations of former City Attorney Mike Aguirre by the State Bar of California have been closed with the bar concluding that no further action is warranted. In such cases, the bar investigates complaints to see if there is a reasonable cause to bring a complaint for breach of professional standards. All the investigations were dismissed. In a seemingly coordinated action to thwart Aguirre's attempts to reform City practices, particularly the pension mess, many San Diegans came forward to register complaints, greatly in the 2007-2008 period. The Union-Tribune used the bar investigations as a linchpin in its smear campaign against him.
The bar looked at 7 matters, two of which were duplicative. Many of the complaints dealt with Aguirre's position that he represented the people of San Diego, not just the government. There were several complaints that this was a conflict of interest -- that he both defended and opposed government employees on occasion. There were complaints about bills paid to lawyers and law firms. Four of the compainants were police officers who had unsuccessfully sued him for extortion. Tom Story, an ex-City official under former Mayor Dick Murphy, filed a complaint based on a highly controversial lawsuit in which a judge ruled that Aguirre could not charge Story with violating rules against ex-officials lobbying former City employees after going to work for the private sector. Story had taken a job with the company that had constructed a building near Montgomery Field that broke federal and state rules for excessive height. Aguirre sued, the company countersued, but eventually the company -- which had been assisted by Mayor Sanders -- lowered the building.
The San Diego establishment's orchestration of the bar investigation, and the media's inflation of it, is a telling story of how San Diego operates. It will be dealt with at more length later.
The investigations of former City Attorney Mike Aguirre by the State Bar of California have been closed with the bar concluding that no further action is warranted. In such cases, the bar investigates complaints to see if there is a reasonable cause to bring a complaint for breach of professional standards. All the investigations were dismissed. In a seemingly coordinated action to thwart Aguirre's attempts to reform City practices, particularly the pension mess, many San Diegans came forward to register complaints, greatly in the 2007-2008 period. The Union-Tribune used the bar investigations as a linchpin in its smear campaign against him.
The bar looked at 7 matters, two of which were duplicative. Many of the complaints dealt with Aguirre's position that he represented the people of San Diego, not just the government. There were several complaints that this was a conflict of interest -- that he both defended and opposed government employees on occasion. There were complaints about bills paid to lawyers and law firms. Four of the compainants were police officers who had unsuccessfully sued him for extortion. Tom Story, an ex-City official under former Mayor Dick Murphy, filed a complaint based on a highly controversial lawsuit in which a judge ruled that Aguirre could not charge Story with violating rules against ex-officials lobbying former City employees after going to work for the private sector. Story had taken a job with the company that had constructed a building near Montgomery Field that broke federal and state rules for excessive height. Aguirre sued, the company countersued, but eventually the company -- which had been assisted by Mayor Sanders -- lowered the building.
The San Diego establishment's orchestration of the bar investigation, and the media's inflation of it, is a telling story of how San Diego operates. It will be dealt with at more length later.